Julianna Barwick

LA-based musician Julianna Barwick is known for expansive compositions of looping synthesizers interwoven with the sound of her own voice. Emotive and ethereal, it’s the sort of music that makes you contemplate the cosmos (or at least, keep your sanity during rush hour).

Most recently, Barwick worked with Microsoft’s AI software to create the score for the lobby of New York’s new Sister City hotel. A rooftop camera transmits real time data on outdoor conditions (the weather, clouds shapes, a passing pigeon) to a computer that then plays a corresponding track. The result is a serene, ever-evolving soundscape—a testament to AI’s potential to foment, not just frusterate, creativity.

"Artist Matt Gray posts his 'really good' technically terrible drawings of
celebrities and other characters on this handle and they crack me up. I have a few drawings I've done around the house that are kind of like these—equally terrifying and amusing, one of my favorite combos."

"This app created by Yacht's Claire L.Evans and Jona Bechtolt is a godsend! It's such a wonderful resource for seeing what's happening in and around LA whether it be art, music, food—such a smart idea. 5 things to do every day, 1 in each category. so cool."

"If I had a dollar for every time I've watched this I could retire. It never
fails to make me cry. My very first record I bought (meaning like actually
vinyl, from Kmart) was Whitney. She's always been my favorite. This performance
is prodigious and will never not tear me apart completely."

"App made by Brian Eno! I have had this on my iPhone since I got one in
2008! It has ambient background sounds to choose from. Then you touch the screen
to play different notes and the whole thing cycles and generates. So fun
and sounds so good."